GRiZ - Throwback [on Power In Numbers tour NOW]

Published: April 30, 2014

By: Mitchell Treend

Coming off his biggest release, to date, the one they call GRiZ has found immense success in the emerging dance music world around the United States. Less than two years ago he was playing small festivals and events, doing midday shows and self-releasing tracks online. For 2014 He’s got a busy schedule, headlining festivals across the globe from Rock’n Solex in France to the illustrious Shambhala festival in British Columbia. With that golden sexy sax in hand, Grant Kwiecinski continues to show his fans why music is so essential to changing times and how the importance of sustaining a creative balance in a world of commercial influence is worth the risk.

“Throwback” is the newest experimental track from this Detroit all-star. Without a doubt, GRiZ has fashioned a totally new auditory environment from the dance halls of electro-soul and funk for which he’s become known and loved. This track goes to show that niches are important but the true creative force follows no guidelines.

This intro chimes in slow with a dreamy smooth vinyl’d texture that has an insatiable old-school disco-soul vibe. The snare rolls start poppin and we are introduced to the spacey synth lead that really sets this track apart from the normal hearty electro soul we know so well. It becomes a potent combination of soul and future-dub, leaving the listener floating alongside Voyager One in deep, interstellar space.

We are treated to a tasty vocoder chorus crooning the nostalgia of this funky throwback style while rolling forward into the peaks of snare breaks with dreamy chime rolls and wobbles. This all leads to the final drop around 3:16 where seemingly out of nowhere we get this island steel drum sample which absolutely sets this track on fire. The feeling is somewhere in between tropical downtempo relaxation and a climax of future bass bliss.

Finally at 4:12 we get that sexy, sexy sax we’ve all been waiting for. GRiZ and his insane knack for channeling soul and funk vibes rides the snare rolls like he is sailing the Caribbean coves on a cool breeze. To wrap it all up the outro dips easily back into the dreamy, sensual pleasure of a true throwback and carries away the troubles of today with poise and a humble ear. What is left is a truly out-of-the-box refreshing taste of what is sure to continue flowing from this Motor City maestro.